Here's an interesting little article I found while looking through the now defunct WOTC material. It's geared toward the NJO as an RPG setting, but discusses the beginning of the series. It somewhat summarizes Vector Prime and the first chapter of Dark Tide I: Onslaught, e.g. it assumes you know about the Yuuzhan Vong a bit. It's useful because it really does a good job of summarizing the state of things at the start of the series.

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In case you're not familiar with The New Jedi Order, game designer JD Wiker tells you what it's all about!

The New Jedi Order has a lot of layers, a lot of different levels. At its base level, it's the story of the Yuuzhan Vong invasion force taking the galaxy away from the New Republic. And easily, at that. They have a seemingly limitless supply of ships and personnel, and the least of their warriors is the equal to two average New Republic troopers. They take slaves and sacrifice captives. They're absolutely vicious -- and have no interest in diplomacy with the "infidels" they perceive the New Republic to be. And they're all immune to the Force, which renders the Jedi considerably less effective against them than they would be against, say, stormtroopers.

But underneath that is the story of a fresh, young, political body going through its growing pains. The New Republic government is ready to get on with the business of politics, rather than the struggle of defeating a common enemy like they had with the Empire. They'd like the warriors who won them the galaxy to quietly disappear and let the politicians fight among themselves, with words. They don't want to believe at first that an invasion force from beyond the galaxy is attacking them, because they think it's some kind of political play on the part of the Jedi. An analogy would be if the United States government in 1941 hadn't believed that Hawaii had been attacked because they thought the reports of Pearl Harbor were a power play on the part of the U.S. Navy to get more funding. The New Republic quickly comes around when a horde of refugees begin showing up at their doors, though. So on that level, it's a drama of political maneuvering.

Then there's the related issue of Luke Skywalker, now a Jedi Master, trying to figure out how the Jedi should fit into the galaxy, into a New Republic that they're technically not a part of. It doesn't help that even while Luke is considering whether the Jedi should be peacemakers or policy enforcers, some Jedi have taken it upon themselves to patrol the Outer Rim to keep it safe from pirates and free from smugglers -- never mind that some of those pirates and smugglers were the very people who helped the Rebel Alliance defeat the Empire a few decades previous. And, in a kind of microcosm, you see this same struggle reflected in the children of Han Solo and Leia Organa Solo. Anakin Solo believes the Jedi need to have a "hands-on" approach in the galaxy, much as the Jedi "radicals" do. Jacen, his older brother, feels that the Jedi need to distance themselves from galactic events while they rediscover what being a Jedi really means -- which somewhat echoes Luke's own philosophy. And Jacen's twin sister, Jaina, is constantly trying to be the peacemaker -- taking, after a fashion, the role of her teacher and aunt, Mara Jade Skywalker. What's really needed is a new paradigm among the Jedi, and you get to see that start to form throughout the novels.

Another level lies in the internal politics of the Yuuzhan Vong. Their belief that the gods have granted them this new galaxy after millennia in empty space drives them to fanatical aggression. They take world after world and slaughter entire populations because they believe the galaxy already belongs to them and that the infidels in the galaxy can be enslaved, sacrificed, or simply wiped out from orbit. "But negotiation is out of the question, unless it involves your unequivocal surrender." Yikes! What a great environment to play in!

Perhaps the most important level, though, is the heroic journey -- the monomyth of the hero's progression from relative obscurity to saving the world (or the galaxy, in this case). Luke Skywalker went through that journey in the original Star Wars trilogy. Now, though, it's someone else's turn -- and I won't tell you whose. At any rate, the monomyth always makes a good story -- well, pretty much by definition -- and watching it play out is half the fun of reading these books. And, we hope, it will be most of the fun of playing RPG campaigns set in The New Jedi Order Era.

Posted: Wed Jul 31, 2013 5:36 am

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1337JediMaster

Joined: 02 Sep 2012Posts: 562Location: Florida

Do we all have our copies of Vector Prime ready to go for the start of the New Book Club?!?_________________Mara: "Not many people Dare to hug me"
Lando: "That leaves more of you for me then!"

"Sure I can't move a rock with my mind, but, boy can I make that rock think its been moved."

Posted: Mon Aug 05, 2013 7:23 pm

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Crash OverrideMaster

Joined: 22 Dec 2010Posts: 1962

Has anyone started reading yet?

Posted: Mon Aug 05, 2013 7:39 pm

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1337JediMaster

Joined: 02 Sep 2012Posts: 562Location: Florida

I'm already up to Recovery lol, but I scrolled back threw VP yesterday to note some talking points! Anyone els reading? How far are we? And lets do this!_________________Mara: "Not many people Dare to hug me"
Lando: "That leaves more of you for me then!"

"Sure I can't move a rock with my mind, but, boy can I make that rock think its been moved."

Posted: Mon Aug 05, 2013 7:42 pm

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Taral-DLOSMaster

Joined: 23 Nov 2010Posts: 1810Location: Ontario, Canada

I don't think I'll be participating anymore. I just bought seven Dune books, and am trying to read those, plus the six I already had.

Good luck though! I'll be watching this thread with great interest._________________"I'm...from Earth."

I think I'll start reading tomorrow. I just want to finish the Thrawn Trilogy.Only a few chapter to go!

Posted: Tue Aug 06, 2013 3:56 pm

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ReepicheepMaster

Joined: 05 Feb 2008Posts: 7120Location: Sailing into the unknown

*sigh*

I really don't want to say this, but I don't think I'll be able to keep up this time around. I had planned to buy the books on Amazon for a penny each, but the shipping is killing me. Three books were already up to $50 in shipping. My library doesn't have the paperbacks (they got worn out) and I've heard that it isn't a good idea to skip them. Sorry. _________________
Where sky and water meet,
Where the waves grow sweet,
Doubt not, Reepicheep,
To find all you seek,
There is the utter east.

Posted: Sun Aug 11, 2013 7:53 pm

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Crash OverrideMaster

Joined: 22 Dec 2010Posts: 1962

So at this point, who is still participating?

Posted: Thu Jul 03, 2014 9:30 am

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ReepicheepMaster

Joined: 05 Feb 2008Posts: 7120Location: Sailing into the unknown

*blows dust off thread*

I know this has fallen apart many times in the past, but I still want to do it. Anyone else interested in a book club?_________________
Where sky and water meet,
Where the waves grow sweet,
Doubt not, Reepicheep,
To find all you seek,
There is the utter east.

Posted: Fri Jul 04, 2014 9:16 am

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1337JediMaster

Joined: 02 Sep 2012Posts: 562Location: Florida

I would be in! Are we still thinkng of a NJO read through or somewhere els?_________________Mara: "Not many people Dare to hug me"
Lando: "That leaves more of you for me then!"

"Sure I can't move a rock with my mind, but, boy can I make that rock think its been moved."

Posted: Sat Jul 05, 2014 1:02 pm

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ReepicheepMaster

Joined: 05 Feb 2008Posts: 7120Location: Sailing into the unknown

^ If we got more people, I'd be up for the NJO. I'd also like to do the Thrawn Trilogy or LotF. I don't know if this will ever get off the ground though..._________________
Where sky and water meet,
Where the waves grow sweet,
Doubt not, Reepicheep,
To find all you seek,
There is the utter east.

Posted: Sat Jul 05, 2014 4:46 pm

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GrandMasterMaster

Joined: 26 Aug 2011Posts: 622Location: Earth Jedi Temple

Maybe starting with something smaller might be better, like the Thrawn Trilogy. NJO is a pretty big commitment._________________"But it was so artistically done."

“No. I am Ganner. This threshold is mine. I claim it for my own. Bring on your thousands, one at a time or all in a rush. I don’t give a damn. None shall pass.”

"Shaken, not stirred, will get you cold water with a dash of gin and dry vermouth. The reason you stir it with a special spoon is so not to chip the ice. James is ordering a weak martini and being snooty about it."

Posted: Sat Jul 05, 2014 5:55 pm

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ReepicheepMaster

Joined: 05 Feb 2008Posts: 7120Location: Sailing into the unknown

^ Yeah, that's what I was thinking. We can start small and then if it goes well, we can move on to something more ambitious. And the Thrawn Trilogy is such a classic. It would be cool to discuss it with other fans._________________
Where sky and water meet,
Where the waves grow sweet,
Doubt not, Reepicheep,
To find all you seek,
There is the utter east.

Posted: Sat Jul 05, 2014 10:41 pm

Message

Mara Jade SkywalkerAdministrator

Joined: 15 Feb 2008Posts: 5799Location: Beyond Shadows

I can't promise I could keep up (I'm a slow reader these days), but I would love to do a reread of the Thrawn trilogy._________________
"It's not about the legacy you leave, it's about the life you live." ~Mara Jade Skywalker

Posted: Sat Jul 05, 2014 10:58 pm

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papinachoPadawan

Joined: 01 Jul 2014Posts: 29

I'd love to participate but I just read the Thrawn Trilogy. Nobody up for Shadows of the Empire? Or maybe Splinter of the Mind's Eye? Allegience? Scoundrels?